Good enough?

Over a year and a half ago my partner and I moved into a new home. As with any move, a great deal of change was called for and, among other things, I needed to change gyms. Given that there was a seemingly decent gym in our building and that I work from home, the choice seemed like a no-brainer. Heck, I could simply ride the elevator down a few floors and, voila, I was at the gym! Because convenience is at least half of the ball game for me where gyms are concerned, I cancelled my previous gym membership without hesitation and opted for the on-site option.

A year and a half later, after a great European holiday, I was inspired to change yet again. After a two-week taste of three adequate, but limited hotel gyms, I began to meaningfully comprehend the many limitations of our building’s gym. I also quickly began to detest the idea of returning to it. Fortunately, I was aware of a good gym, which had recently opened in our neighborhood, that was running a New Year’s special and, long story a tad shorter, we joined.

The upshot of this story is that I overlooked a great deal in the name of convenience. When I began using our building’s gym, convenience enabled me to overlook many of its limitations: limited equipment, limited space, and limited clientele among others. I had faced each of these perceived limitations as challenges to rise to in the name of saving time and $$. Yet, retrospectively, each of these challenges inevitably limited my ability to maintain my desired level of health and fitness: The limited equipment and space very much limited my ability to physically challenge myself over time and the limited clientele, while seemingly a plus at first glance, became a nightmarish and demotivating repetition of neighbors I didn’t want to rub elbows (or voice boxes) with during a workout.

I perceive that some may thrive in the environment I just fled and that others may fail in the environment I fled to, but I also understand that my many arguments for our building’s “good enough” gym were more aimed to convince myself than others. Within that realization was another one: On some level I knew the gym wasn’t good enough and I should have been more critical of my own stance. Shoulda-coulda-woulda’s aside, time is what truly determines the good, the bad, and the good enough. In this case, time debunked good enough as bad (for me) and I’ve altered my viewpoint and my gym location in response. I, my workouts, and my health and fitness have been reinvigorated and improved in the interim. Next time I repetitively attempt to convince myself and others that something is “good enough,” I will be more mindful of my reasoning.